The Immigration Debate

At least 55 of this year's Inc. 500 CEOs were born outside the United States, coming from countries as far-flung as Argentina, the United Kingdom, India, Russia, Pakistan, and the Philippines. The companies they run employ more than 14,300 workers and contributed more than $1.36 billion to the economy last year. Other countries may offer cheaper business costs (India, China) or more incentives for entrepreneurs (Ireland, Taiwan), but America seems to retain its land-of-opportunity glow for these CEOs. Rob Monster, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Holland, worked in several cities abroad before deciding to found Global Market Insite (No. 93) outside Seattle. "If you really want to build a business quickly that will have a global footprint and ability to access capital from smart sources," he says, "then America is the place."